Aqaba Port’s first oil-tanker steering gear in place

AMMAN — The Aqaba Development Company (ADC) has completed installing the first oil-tanker steering gear of international standards at the Aqaba Oil Terminal, located within the new southern port.

Terminal director, Mohammad Louama, said the new and upgraded system utilises laser technology to monitor speed and calculate distance, thus facilitating the process of docking tankers at night, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The previously used docking mechanism relied on the estimations and expertise of the maritime piloting crew, thus making it difficult to dock tankers at night, Louama said.

He added that the new system will provide maritime pilots with accurate readings, in addition to mitigating risks and facilitating docking procedures at any time during the day, according to Petra.

The upgrade is part of a project that seeks to develop the Aqaba Oil Terminal, Louama highlighted.

He underscored that the gear upgrade will contribute to an increase of the terminal’s operational capacity, stressing that the oil terminal, which the ADC is currently rehabilitating, is a vital part of the of the Aqaba ports’ structure.

The director explained that the oil terminal is the only place where the Kingdom derives various raw oil and petroleum products that are not provided by the Jordan Petroleum Refinery Co., in terms of production capacity.

The terminal is the only source of liquid chemicals that are needed within a number of fields that include medical equipment and industrial enterprises.

Louama revealed that the ADC has implemented a number of projects to habilitate and develop the oil terminal over a number of phases.

He pointed out that the development project involves building 11 pumps, five for crude oil, three for petroleum products and three for liquefied petroleum gas.

As part of the development efforts, the company will work on increasing the operational and handling capacities of the port from 7 to 14 million tonnes annually, by installing robotic arms to facilitate the process.